Tyranoth
Territories: Tyranoth presently occupies the western portion of Ercus, with the two most important cities, aside from the capital, being Drethor and Port Arklamb.
Government: Tyranoth’s government is a limited monarchy, ruled by an unbroken human bloodline that stretches to Gareth Sidlings. The present ruler is Emperor Rale II, an indecisive and mostly inefficient monarch whose duties are mostly handled by the Parliament, the law-handling body which consists of nine men selected by the king himself. Their terms are dictated by the king—they remain in office as long as he wants them there. The law states that there can never be less than seven men in Parliament so that the king cannot do away with them completely and take absolute power. These nine men are also the judicial authorities of Tyranoth. The government is largely uncorrupt, except perhaps for the tax collectors who often overcharge to turn a profit.
Population: The Empire of Tyranoth consists of 30 million citizens, with rough estimates provided by the latest census showing approximately 35% human, 30% elven, 25% dwarven, and 7% goblin, ogre, and ogrin, and 3% including the Abhor and Tersids living beneath the city, though a good amount of them are unaccounted for—it is questionable whether or not their communities are larger than they appear. Racial tensions are very low at present, and it is almost not uncommon to see elves associating with goblins.
Military: Tyranoth has a small standing army that is evenly distributed throughout the empire. The army is not very strong, but then again, the empire is not one that is interested in conquest. In case of wartime, men are encouraged but not forced to join the army.
History: The Mercuvian church deemed it necessary to have Duke William IX removed in 262 A.R., a few years after the Tyranian ruler destroyed the statue of Mercu. At first, things moved slowly as no one wanted to openly challenge the ruler, but meanwhile, they did not want to turn their backs on their god. In a display of arrogance, and what would eventually lead to his downfall, William began a systematic execution of Mercuvian priests and acolytes for challenging his power, decimating the hierarchy from the bottom to the top. Seeing the degradation of their religion, the Tyranians were inspired to revolt. Tyranoth became divided between two factions—the Serfs, led by the Mercuvian priest Gareth Sidlings and the Loyalists, led by Duke William himself.
The Serfs’ Revolution, as it became known, lasted for five years. The Loyalist army, 6,000 men strong and supported by another 2,500 volunteers among those faithful to William and nearly 1,000 mercenaries, held the upper hand for the first two years, even though it was considerably smaller than the Serfs’ makeshift army. The Serfs’ stand began in Balarkesh. They attempted to push forward and temporarily gained foothold in the next town, but were soon forced back and even lost ground. The terrible battles would rage day and night—Serfs would often experience the misfortune of waking up in the middle of combat.
The serfs had two advantages—they controlled all the farms and commanded superior numbers. Rather than attempt another spearhead deeper into Tyranoth, they decided to cut off the Loyalists’ supply lines and hoard their produce. Realizing what the Serfs were doing, the Loyalists attempted spearheads of their own. The tug-of-war on supply routes went on for another two years, with the Serfs losing more and more men. They called out for help around Ercus, knowing that the other city-states wanted to remain as uninvolved as possible. New Siber, Andalora, and Drethor all refused to come to their aid. But their cry was heeded by a number of mercenaries, who proved to be the deciding factor.
Every mercenary that loaned their skills to the war effort was fighting for their share of Tyranoth’s wealth. The most prominent mercenaries that came to the Serfs’ aid were Logic Destica, a powerful necromancer who played both sides of the war, and Nevrin Arloth, a clever Elven tactician whose aid had been previously refused by the Loyalists—they did not require her services. Nevrin commanded a series of feints and pinpoint attacks which the Loyalists could not successfully defend. Several attacks were made simultaneously on opposite sides of the city, and with inferior numbers, the Loyalists could not keep up. Meanwhile, Logic fed the Loyalist generals false information, weakening their defenses, and informed the Serfs of their movements. Eventually, the Loyalists caught onto Logic’s game and attempted to have him killed. Their attempt failed and the necromancer fell from their grasp.
The final battle of the Revolution was fought as the Loyalists initiated a desperate spearhead into the heart of Balarkesh, trying to capture Nevrin. The assault was wholly unexpected. The battle lasted four bloody days, with both sides taking heavy losses. Necromancers reanimated corpses to continue fighting. Summoners called upon countless beasts. Mages rained fire upon the streets. Eventually, it came to an end as the Loyalists surrendered after being surrounded by the still-overwhelming army of Serfs.
Just before the end of the year 267 A.R., the war was over. Within the next week, Duke William IX, the last of his line, was publicly executed alongside every member of his Personal Guard. The noble families were exiled from Tyranoth, and their figureheads were executed. Gareth Sidlings declared himself king and immediately drew up a charter which established that the king must be a servant to Mercu and his people, not vice versa. Next, he established new noble families—those of the most noteworthy participants of the war, donating to them the money the previous noble families had held. Then, Gareth set laws which regulated the economy so that each citizen received what they earned from their work.
The reconstruction of Tyranoth would take until 280 A.R. to complete. The city was left completely unrecognizable by the Serf’s Revolution. Much aid came from the Emerald Spire of Keldremad for this effort. Keldremad provided the collapsing Tyranoth with resources to rebuild, winning Tyranoth’s friendship and loyalty. Several mercenaries who had aided the war effort on both sides settled into the city and helped in the reconstruction. With them came many dwarves, elves, and other races, either relatives of these mercenaries or people who were looking to create new lives for themselves in the beginnings of a better Tyranoth.
Tyranoth was a whole new city-state after its reconstruction. Gone were the three towns that originally comprised it, and in their place was a unified Tyranoth comprised of various districts, the most prominent of which are Old Balarkesh, the southwestern portion of the city where the new Tyranian palace was constructed and where most of the governing offices can be found; East Market, at the eastern portion of Tyranoth where many artisans and farmers sell their goods; Keylan, where the University of Tyranoth, renowned for its medical research and history department, can be found; and Northgate, the northern entrance to Tyranoth at which stands a marble monument depicting Gareth Sidlings and Nevrin Arloth in full battle armor staring off into the distance, with a plaque reading “On the Morn of the First Day of Peace.”
The city-state of Tyranoth expanded in all directions, creating charters for new towns, stretching to the northwestern and southwestern shores of Ercus. With its expansion, Tyranoth declared itself a kingdom rather than a city-state. In 310 A.R., border disputes between Tyranoth and Drethor at the southwestern area of Ercus led to another war. Drethor, still feeling the influence of the nearly-defunct Seekers, found many enemies amongst the racially-integrated Tyranoth. This war, which came to be known simply as the Twelve Years’ War, raged for as long as its namesake suggests. Tyranoth and Drethor teeter-tottered for dominance until Tyranoth finally called Keldremad to its aid and enlisted the services of the now-powerful lich Logic. With Nevrin’s tactics and now more numbers (living and undead) to her aid, she was once again able to lead Tyranoth to victory.
In 322 A.R., the Twelve Years’ War ended, and Tyranoth claimed Drethor and all its lands as its own, establishing it as an empire. There was relatively little bloodshed in this war as compared to others as a result of Nevrin’s tactics pushing for minimal loss of life, and most of the fighting occurred on the open fields so neither city needed to be rebuilt. The non-human races did not rush into Drethor as racial segregation was still apparent. The Tyranian government sponsored a reform movement, but it was not until 386 A.R. that racial tensions in Drethor finally faded away and the non-human population exploded.
The Empire of Tyranoth prides itself with its acceptance of all races and cultures and is presently among the most democratic nations in Fou Lu. Trade has flourished in the empire as many merchants, farmers, and artisans have found opportunities to prosper. Its territory spans the western portion of Ercus, with several townships scattered about connected by train routes and airship ports.
Culture: Tyranian culture consists mostly of humans, elves, and dwarves, though several other races flock to the kingdom searching for the promise of new life. After all, with the success of the Serfs’ Revolution, the kingdom’s motto had become “From the Least Shall Arise the Greatest.” Most of these people worship Mercu devoutly, though each religion is also represented strongly in the kingdom as a result of immigration. With the implementation of trains and airships, Tyranoth has become more and more united. Each race has brought their own customs and idiosyncrasies to Tyranoth, and these have, in turn, been assimilated by every citizen in the kingdom. Tyranoth is, for all intents and purposes, a melting pot of Fou Lu culture.
Advancements
Magical: intermediate.
Technological: accomplished.
Major Accomplishments: Advanced medicine - research at the University of Tyranoth has led to great improvements in the treatment of sicknesses. Presently, they are hard at work on understanding human anatomy and have developed some sanitary and effective surgical methods.
